


Coming Home

by kiss_me_cassie



Category: Madam Secretary
Genre: Gen, Slice of Life, West Wing is my gateway drug, mentions of West Wing characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-25 00:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4939501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiss_me_cassie/pseuds/kiss_me_cassie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I just need a quality night with my family, not thinking."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently reading fic again begets wanting to write more fic again. Much love to skywaterblue for co-parenting Izzie with me.

"Honey, I'm home!" Elizabeth called as she swung through the door, lugging her work tote and carry-on bag with her.

"In here!" Henry called from the kitchen.

She dropped the bags on the floor and headed to where he was busily chopping vegetables at the island. Leaning over to give him a quick kiss, she glanced down at what he was preparing. "Stirfry?"

"Pasta Primavera," he corrected. He looked her over with a critical eye. "You look exhausted. How was China?"

She pulled a face and sat down on one of the island's stools. "Hopeful, but not where I want us to be yet. We still have a ways to go. But at least no one is threatening to aim nuclear weapons at the other anymore."

"Then I'd consider the trip a success."

"Yeah." She sighed and kicked off her shoes, rubbing at her feet. "Remind me next time I decide to make a 72 hour round trip to and from China to take a break and come home and not head directly back into the office first."

He kept his voice cautiously neutral. "Munsey needed you." 

She hummed noncommittally and reached for one of the sliced vegetables. "If we hadn't also been dealing with the thing in Germany..." She stopped suddenly and sat up straighter. "I forgot to mention that I got an interesting phone call this afternoon just before coming home."

"Oh? From who?" 

"Donna Moss."

His head jerked up at that. "Moss? As in Josh Lyman's Donna Moss? I know their firm's always looking for the best and brightest but-"

"Did you just refer to me, however obliquely, as one the best and the brightest?" she teased, reaching across to steal another vegetable. 

Henry swatted her hand away. "Not so obliquely," he answered and put down the knife he'd been chopping with. "But seriously… You didn't seek out *this* position. I'm not sure I want Lyman & Ziegler suggesting you for another one before you're even-"

She raised her hand to stop him mid-rant. "She was calling about schools for her daughter."

Henry looked at her, puzzled. "And she thought you'd be able to help her how?"

"Apparently, Josh Lyman has become very good at pissing off school administrators."

He snorted. "That doesn't surprise me."

"You've never liked him, especially since the thing in Tajikistan."

"Damn right! Ethically and morally, it was the wrong thing to do and he knew it but he still went ahead and recommended action to the President."

Elizabeth nodded sagely. "You're right. Ethically and morally it was wrong. But Lyman knew how the Senate and House would see it -- AND the American people. You're just mad that the President listened to him instead of you."

"Yes," he groused.

She gave him a sympathetic look, before continuing, "She was looking for a recommendation on a good school. She wanted to know about Jason's."

"Did you tell her you got Jason kicked out?" he asked. 

"Jason got Jason kicked out," she inserted dryly. "I just didn't help much with the situation."

He snorted. "Given that, I don't know how Donna Moss or Josh Lyman expect-"

"Are you guys talking about Izzie Lyman?" Jason asked, bounding down the stairs and scooting around them to get some juice from the fridge.

They both swiveled around to look at him. "What do you know about her?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

He shrugged and poured the juice into a glass. "Not much. But Mike's little sister is friends with her and she's weird."

"She's eight!" his mother exclaimed. "How weird can she be?"

Putting the juice carton back into the fridge, Jason shrugged again. "Weird. She talks a lot but not about My Little Pony or Lego sets or other stuff like normal girls. She likes to argue and she talks about grown up stuff. She's... weird."

His father laughed. "Yup, definitely sounds like she's their kid." They watched Jason retreat back up the stairs, and Henry belated called after him, "Dinner is in fifteen minutes!" 

"OK!" he called back. 

Henry turned back to Elizabeth. "So… schools?"

"I can't even start to think about what schools to recommend. Or about Munsey. Or… anything, really. I just need a quality night with my family, not thinking."

"So I suppose now's not the time to tell you Alison is at Kirsten's for the night or about Stevie's latest romantic foible?"

She sighed and laid her head down on the island. "Enough!" she mumbled. "Is that dinner ready yet?" she asked, peeking back up at him.

"Not yet," he answered, smiling as he came around to massage her shoulders gently. "But I've got a few minutes. How about some quality husband time?" he murmured.

"Mmmm. That sounds like an excellent plan,' she answered, sitting up and and turning to twine her arms around his neck. "A truly excellent plan."


End file.
